THERE IS GELATIN in Frosted Mini-Wheats?!
Yes, there is, and milk protein in nondairy coffee creamer.
Seem ridiculous? We think so.
Welcome to DIY Vegan. We wrote this book to save you from wasting untold time reading labels and dreaming of the day when a new vegan mayo finds its way to the shelves of your small-town grocery store. Because we’ve been there, too. Between the two of us, we’ve racked up more than forty years of eating a vegan diet. We love almost everything about being vegan, with one exception: scouring the ingredient list of every package for hidden dairy and other non-vegan ingredients.
But reading labels is just something we had to do. Lisa, an energetic idealist, was all of six years old when she went vegan—at first for health reasons because her body couldn’t digest animal protein—and decades later, her commitment to compassion remains steadfast. Nicole, a driven, empathetic activist, went vegetarian in her early teens after learning about the fate of animals in the food industry and then adopted veganism soon after. At the time we started on this path, it was rare to see the word vegan on the cover of a cookbook, let alone on a label in a supermarket.
We were both young and enthusiastic. We committed to veganism before we even knew how to cook. So, at first we relied on pasta with tomato sauce, peanut butter sandwiches, and plenty of fruit and vegetables. Whenever we wanted to try something new, it meant checking the ingredient lists with our fingers crossed. Sometimes we lucked out; sometimes words like caseinate, lactose, or whey showed up and ruined all the fun. We both knew that for veganism to be a healthful, joyful lifestyle for the rest of our days, we needed to find a way to do it without feeling deprived. We needed to enjoy the foods we love—by finding options created with compassion that would also do our bodies some good. Seems simple, right?
The best thing about becoming vegan before it was cool was being a pioneer in creating a whole new plant-based cuisine. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Well, when you’re the only vegan you’ve ever known, the opportunities for invention abound. So we learned to play in the kitchen. When our friends were eating meat and potatoes, we were trying out dhals, mesir wats, black bean enchiladas, falafel sandwiches, bibimbap, and all the kinds of kale.
We quickly discovered that vegan food meant an abundance of diverse, delicious flavors and limitless possibilities, but the convenience food industry clearly didn’t see it that way. Who knew the intriguing Pop-Tart’s flavor that looked so good on TV contained fat from the abdomen of pigs (lard), cows’ connective tissue (gelatin), ground-up insects (carmine), high-fructose corn syrup, the illusive TBHQ, and “natural flavor”?
Sound appetizing? Not to us, and probably not to you, either.
Once our comfort with vegan cooking grew, so did our culinary goals. Ironically, this was also around the time veganism started growing in popularity, and we began to see more and more processed vegan products hitting the shelves. As excited as we were for their arrival and availability, reviewing their ingredient lists demonstrated that vegan doesn’t always mean healthy. Not to say that we haven’t reveled in the enjoyment of a vegan peanut butter cup or a pint of coconut ice cream, but those foods are treats for us, not staples.
We decided we didn’t want to be tied to the products that might be available in our grocery store (depending on the store manager’s whims … fingers crossed that he has a vegan cousin) or delivered through airmail. We wanted to be able to eat fantastic, healthful food wherever and whenever we wanted.
Are we just a little demanding? Maybe. Determined? Absolutely.
Our challenge: to create nourishing recipes that fit into our busy schedules and could be reproduced in almost any kitchen around the world.
And so began our experiments to create yummy snacks, treats, meals, and sides, many of which we’ve shared on our blogs, VeganCulinaryCrusade.com and ADashofCompassion.com, and through our e-cookbooks, Tiny Treats and Edible Gifts. We learned to make our own nondairy milk, created flour out of almond pulp and oat groats, piped tiny chocolate chips from homemade cacao, and cheered on our food processor while it ground peanuts into a smooth, silky butter.
After years of testing and perfecting, we’re ready to share our secrets with you. This book is full of our discoveries—the ways we reimagined recipes with real ingredients that amp up the flavor and nutrition. In the following chapters, we have 135 new recipes for everyday staples that you can make in your own kitchens from ingredients available down the street (whether that be in Paris, Toronto, or Melbourne), everything from DIY milks, flours, and butters to fun and easy-to-adapt sauces, spreads, and snack foods.
Ultimately, we want to redefine today’s vegan kitchen, lining shelves with glass mason jars and reusable containers instead of cardboard cereal boxes and plastic cartons, and we want you to feel comfortable and confident that you can fill your pantry with food you can trust.
WHY DIY?
Because we can. And you can, too!
The first question people ask when they find out you’re vegan is: “What do you eat?” It’s hard for most to imagine a diet without eggs, dairy, and meat when every label you read on grocery store shelves seems to contain ingredients like whey, milk powder, or butterfat (and that’s just in the cracker aisle). Vegans often become experts in analyzing labels: for every new product you come across, the first thing you’ll do is scan the ingredient list to confirm whether it contains animal-derived ingredients—never mind the other impossible-to-pronounce preservatives, stabilizers, artificial colors, and chemical sweeteners.
But we’ve got a solution: do it yourself. You can make it better, healthier, and often cheaper than anything you can buy. And no labels to read.
We also DIY because:
• We save money. It might seem that convenience foods are cheaper, and if you’re not concerned about quality, that can sometimes be the case. But most of the time, we pay more for ready-to-eat items. On almond milk and almond butter alone, we’ve saved enough over the years to pay for special evenings out at our favorite restaurants, where we’re happy for someone else to do the cooking and the dishes. We buy many of our staple ingredients in bulk, getting just what we need without all the packaging and brand names. We rely on versatile ingredients that can be used in a multitude of recipes, ensuring that we make the most of them while they’re still fresh.
• We save time. This may seem like an impossible statement in a book about making things from scratch, but truly, we spend less time shopping and cooking than before. The recipes in this book have become our roadmap—they are tried and tested to provide reliable results. We stock up on staple ingredients and make everything we need on a regular cycle; we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about our shopping list or standing with the cupboards open trying to pick a snack now that we have a plan.
• We feel better. We’ve stopped unknowingly consuming sugar, salt, and preservatives. It wasn’t a conscious avoidance effort. It just happened along the way, and the result is more energy, stronger immunity, and bodies that wake up ready for another adventure every day. We didn’t say we don’t consume sugar or salt, just not the stuff hidden in a long ingredient list. We happily add maple syrup to our pancakes and salt to our simmering sauces. We do it for flavor and add just what we need to bring out the best of the ingredients.
• We can do it anywhere. We both love to travel. But being away from home also means being away from familiar foods. Knowing how to make your favorite snacks and meals from scratch means you can leave behind the anxiety about finding vegan-friendly foods when you head off to visit Ecuador, Indonesia, or even your in-laws.
• We enjoy our food more. We’re proud of the food we make and we know everything it contains has something good to offer. We eat more consciously, with more appreciation and, since we’ve figured out 135 recipes we love, with more enjoyment. Truly, homemade tomato sauce shames the stuff from the store, fresh almond milk doesn’t have any strange aftertaste, and fresh-baked granola has a crunch and complexity that far surpasses any store-bought cereal.
• We get to share. The best thing about making homemade staples is that they are already perfect for sharing as an incredibly thoughtful gift. Trust us, showing up at a party with a batch of vanilla ice cream, caramelized chai popcorn, salsa verde, or pico de gallo that you made yourself garners a whole lot more gratitude than a bag of Oreo cookies you picked up on your way. Plus, we believe people bond over food, and that one of the greatest gifts you can share is a nourishing meal with a friend or loved one. So we strongly encourage you to share the secrets you’ve discovered in these pages and the beautiful food you’ve crafted yourself.
WHY VEGAN AND GLUTEN-FREE?
Plant-based diets are the fastest-growing dietary trend, and smart people like you are seeking alternatives to processed products. With increasing awareness of celiac disease and more mainstream interest in avoiding wheat, we’ve made sure each made-at-home solution has an option for everyone.
EASY-TO-FIND INGREDIENTS
We’re also hoping to earn the “exceeds expectations” gold star for creating every recipe in this book with easy-to-find, whole-food ingredients. To make these recipes, we didn’t order any special ingredients online. We went to the grocery stores and health food stores in our neighborhoods and used what we could find—with a lot of creativity and some almost delusional determination. Of course, ingredient availability will differ depending on where you live. If you can’t find what you need in your usual grocery store, try the health food store, bulk food store, or Asian/Southeast Asian markets, or, as a last resort, stock up online or the next time you travel to a big city.
Our family and friends are used to being presented with bags of carefully curated freezer-friendly food. If you invite either of us over, you should expect we will have made something special for the occasion.
I think I say “I love you” with muffins. When someone I know is pregnant, while they’re nesting and readying themselves for the new arrival, I’m filling my freezer with black bean burritos, savory soups, veggie burgers, muffins, and cookies—all the things you can eat single-handed. There is nothing like delivering a stack of homemade snacks to a woman who’s about to become a mom. It is the most amazing thing to be able to make the life of a new mother a little bit easier—with ready-to-eat, healthful, delicious food. —L. P.
At work, I think every big decision should be accompanied by a baked good, something sweet to savor while you weigh all the options. I often arrive with a basket of snacks because I’d rather be known for that than my proofreading skills. My husband’s colleagues have started sending requests. It makes me smile to think that, rather than call in a caterer or stop at the store, they prefer to order homemade favorites from me. —N. A.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE DIY WORK WITH YOUR 9 TO 5?
As much as we would love to fill our days with checking in on our soaking nuts, piping swirls of chocolate frosting, and playing with pulsing different versions of pesto, we both have busy lives that mostly keep us away from home. We spend more time typing than stirring. But that doesn’t mean we have to settle for shelf-stable convenience meals. Life is just too short to eat something that could outlive you. We want fresh, flavorful food. So, how do we fit it all in? The best surprise about working on a make-it-all-from-scratch cookbook while keeping up with our full-time jobs, families, love lives, etc., was the realization that the secret to having it all is habit.
Most of the recipes in this book actually take very little hands-on time. With a little planning and a different shopping list, you can fill your pantry without filling up all your free time.
There are many recipes in this book you can easily make on a whim. If you decide it’s pizza night at four P.M., no problem. You can have the pizza dough and pizza sauce ready to serve by six.
But if you want to replace your regular store-bought ingredients with self-crafted staples, we suggest setting up a regular routine. You can set aside a little time every weekend to whip up these foods and then enjoy the results over the next couple of weeks.
Your go-to recipes may be different from ours, but here are some basic examples of how you might set up your pantry cycle.
Biweekly:
Shake up some salad dressing (here)
Bake a batch of granola or mix up some muesli (here, here)
Process some almond butter or chocolate hazelnut spread (here, here)
Pulse some mac and cheese sauce, popcorn spice blends, and parmesan shakers (here, here)
Monthly:
Craft some artisanal cheeses (here)
Make your must-have condiments, like ketchup, mayo, or mustard (here, here)
Stir up some snack bars (here)
Simmer some tomato sauce, peanut sauce, or nacho sauce (here, here)
Freeze homemade ice cream or frozen yogurt (here)
Every Six Months:
Create fresh spice blends (here)
Start a new batch of vanilla extract (here)
Mix up your gluten-free flour mix (here)
Fill some jars with ready-to-use muffin mix and cake mix (here, here)
The real strategy for successfully switching to more DIY staples is taking the extra few minutes to soak some cashews before you leave for work or to stir up your overnight oats before you head to bed. A little attention in advance makes amazing food possible later.
Now with your DIY instruction manual in hand, it’s time to pick a project and stock up on supplies. We’ll meet you by the mason jars.
Love & cupcakes,
Lisa & Nicole
